Chapter Summaries with Key Terms and Academic Vocabulary

Chapter 2: Getting to Know Yourself

Section 2.1 Summary
Good decisions take careful thought and planning, especially if they are important decisions such as making a career choice. Making decisions is easier if you follow a decision-making process, which is a series of steps that can help you identify and evaluate possibilities and make a good choice. There are seven steps in the decision-making process: define your needs and wants, analyze your resources, identify your choices, gather information, evaluate your choices, make a decision, and plan how to reach your goal.

Section 2.2 Summary
Getting to know yourself will help you to choose a career that is right for you. You can begin to explore who you are by defining your lifestyle goals and your values, which are your beliefs and principles. You should also consider your interests, the things you enjoy doing, when choosing a career. Your interests can help you determine whether you prefer to work with data, people, or things. Another factor to consider when deciding on a career is your aptitudes and abilities. An aptitude is your potential for learning a skill. An ability is a skill you have developed. Your personality and your learning styles should also influence your career choice.

Key Terms
decision-making process
lifestyle goals
values
data
aptitude
ability
personality
self-concept
learning styles

Academic Vocabulary
affect sequence
examine